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Shenning Group’s coal-to-oil project turned profitable after being capitalized/Author/Source: Date: 11-15-2018 Clicks: 30 By continuously improving the stability of the production facilities and the efficiency of business operations, in October of this year, Shenning Group’s coal-to-oil subsidiary produced 195,000 tons of diesel and chemical products, 126,500 tons of naphtha, and 26,600 tons of liquefied gas; thus, it became profitable right after the capitalization phase was completed. The 4 million tons per year coal-to-oil project is a demonstration project for the deep processing of coal, established in light of China’s basic structure of primary energy resources, which features a shortage of oil and gas but an abundance of coal. It was created to meet the rapidly growing demand for oil in China, ensure national energy security, and advance the country’s medium- to long-term energy development strategy. This project is the largest coal-to-oil facility of its kind in the world. It serves as the key project for Ningxia to achieve rapid economic and social development, and it is also a crucial initiative for Ningxia Coal Group to adjust its industrial structure and carry out transformation and upgrading. On December 21, 2016, the 4 million tons per year coal indirect liquefaction demonstration project completed the entire production process and produced qualified products. As a **national and world-class project, it is crucial for coal-to-oil plants to operate stably, sustainably, and safely in the long term. The coal-to-oil subsidiary, which had taken the first step toward success, did not stop there; it quickly shifted its focus to addressing deficiencies, carrying out system optimizations, and pursuing technological advancements, thereby gradually resolving the \"bottleneck\" issues that hindered the stable operation of the facility. On December 17, 2017, the entire plant was able to operate at full capacity. To further improve the quality of production operations, the branch company thoroughly identified the issues that affect the safe, stable, long-term, full-capacity, and high-quality operation of the facilities. It systematically revised various plans, technical specifications, and operating procedures, and implemented dynamic management. Strict controls were applied to the production process, process inspections, and hazard identification during maintenance. All 133 large-scale units continued to operate normally, with the project facilities achieving a capacity utilization rate of 95% to 97%. The air separation and power station units have achieved a maximum continuous operation time of over 350 days, while the FTO and low-temperature methanol washing units have reached a maximum continuous operation time of more than 330 days. The gasifier has attained a maximum continuous operation time of 200 days. The 4 million tons per year coal indirect liquefaction demonstration project undertakes **37 major tasks related to the localization of technologies, equipment, and materials. Some large-scale equipment was manufactured and used for the first time in the construction of the Shenning coal-to-oil project. The branch office focuses on carrying out a special campaign aimed at \"strengthening the three basics, consolidating foundations, identifying shortcomings, and promoting improvement.\" It conducts special inspections of equipment management, lubrication management, and secondary warehouses, while also strengthening the management of the five major safety monitoring systems. Two major shutdown overhauls of the equipment were organized successively, with standardized maintenance procedures implemented; a total of 13,783 maintenance tasks were carried out, and 405 technical upgrades were completed, ensuring the continuous safe, stable, and clean operation of the large-scale equipment. To achieve high-quality operational development, in addition to robust equipment support, innovative management and the tapping of internal potential to improve operational efficiency are other key factors that enable coal-to-oil projects to succeed. The coal-to-oil subsidiary has established an operational management system, adopting a approach that involves setting detailed and quantified targets, enforcing strict process control, preparing precise cost budgets, and carrying out dynamic performance evaluations; it breaks down business objectives at various levels to simulate the operation of an internal market. The annual internal control budget was broken down in detail for each factory and center; 87 projects and measures aimed at saving energy and reducing consumption were assigned. Management activities to conserve water, electricity, steam, nitrogen, air, etc. were carried out on a continuous basis, along with a range of other measures to save energy and reduce consumption, including efforts to optimize the proportion of raw coal used. The various specific consumption values are approaching the design values: the coal consumption per ton of oil product is 3.55 tons of standard coal (**baseline value: 3.65 tons), and the water consumption per ton of oil product is 5.7 tons (**limit: 10 tons). Both values meet or exceed the design specifications. At the same time, efforts were made to advance technological innovation and the transformation of research results; 15 new chemical products were developed, including FTO-synthesized heavy liquid waxes, FTO-synthesized crude liquid waxes, FTO-refined waxes, FTO-synthesized waxes, FTO-heavy waxes, and FTO-soft waxes. The sales company was coordinated to take proactive actions in expanding the market, and chemical products accounted for over 50% of total production and sales volume, laying a solid foundation for profitability after the coal-to-oil project became operational.